The Epica awards were created in 1987 and celebrated their 25th anniversary last year. Having originally focused on Europe only, the awards will become worldwide in 2012. Epica’s aim is to reward outstanding creativity and help communication agencies, film production companies, media consultancies, photographers and design studios to develop their reputations beyond their national borders. The awards are judged by journalists representing the trade press; 41 specialist titles and websites from 34 countries will be represented on the jury this year, including 6 new titles from Canada, India, Singapore, China, Australia and the Philippines. This unique jury guarantees objectivity and widespread coverage of the results. The best work is also published in the annual Epica Book.

Awards

Category winners (gold) will receive Epica crystal pyramids, silver and bronze winners will also receive special crystal awards. Gold, silver and bronze winners will also receive certificates. All the winners and a selection of other high-scoring entries will be published in the annual Epica Book

Judging Criteria

Epica entries are judged on the basis of 2 criteria only; the originality of the creative idea and the quality of its execution (except in the Craft & Imagery categories where only executional quality is taken into consideration). The Epica results are determined by category. The highest scoring entry in each category wins gold, on condition that the work surpasses a minimum score that qualifies it as a category winner. Other entries in each category that achieve this score win silver or bronze. When no entry meets the standard there are no winners in the category. Four Epica d’Or (grand prix) will be awarded to the best overall film, press, outdoor and interactive entries. These will be selected from all the category winners.

Free Book

Each company participating in the competition will receive a free copy of the 400-page Epica Book, volume 27, to be published in August 2014. Epica Book 26, covering the 2012 awards, is now available. Introduced by Jose Miguel Sokoloff (President of the Lowe Global Creative Council & Chief Creative Officer, Lowe/SSP3, Bogotá) the 26th annual edition of the Epica Book showcases more than 850 TV commercials, posters, press ads, radio spots, PR projects, promotions, internet sites, graphic design projects, integrated campaigns, direct marketing, branded content and innovated media entries honoured in the 2012/13 Epica awards.

Eligibility

The Epica awards are open to all communication agencies, film production companies, media consultancies, web agencies, PR specialists, photographers and design studios worldwide. Only work that has been approved by clients and used, published or broadcast since July 1, 2012 is eligible to enter. Work that does not meet these conditions will be disqualified in order to preserve the integrity of the competition and to ensure that all genuine entries have a fair chance of success.